Tag Archives: the antlers

2011, best of 2011, favorites of 2011, music

Favorites Albums of 2011 (So Far)

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2011 is more than half-way through and in a mere seven months, a boat-load of fantastic new music has hit the airwaves (we’ve also survived yet another prophesied apocalypse…not too shabby plant earth).

Anyways, I did this last Summer and it was fun to look back and see what albums held up when “Best of” season was full effect.  So without further ado, I’m pleased to present my favorite albums of 2011 (so far) and be sure to check back in on December 15th to see if any of these picks make my Top 10.

(in alphabetical order)

Acid House Kings – Music Sounds Better With You

♫ Are We Lovers or Are We Friends ♫


Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi

♫ Blackout ♫


The Antlers – Burst Apart

♫ No Widows ♫


Braids – Native Speaker

♫ Lemonade ♫


Childish Gambino – EP

♫ Freaks and Geeks ♫


Clock Opera – Belongings 7”

♫ Belongings ♫


Cults – Cults

♫ You Know What I Mean ♫


Cut Copy – Zonoscope

♫ Need You Now ♫


Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – It’s A Corporate World

♫ Morning Thought ♫


Diego Garcia – Laura

♫ You Were Never There ♫


The Go! Team – Proof of Youth

♫ T.O.R.N.A.D.O. ♫


Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes

♫ Sadness is a Blessing ♫


NewVillager – NewVillager

♫ Rich Doors ♫


Panda Bear – Tomboy

♫ Last Night At The Jetty ♫


The Postelles – The Postelles

♫ White Night ♫


Radiohead – The King of Limbs

♫ Codex ♫


Starfucker – Reptilians

♫ Bury Us Alive ♫

Telekinesis – 12 Desperate Straight Lines

♫ Car Crash ♫


Tennis – Cape Dory

♫ Marathon ♫


Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchersta

♫ How Can You Luv Me ♫


The Vaccines – What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?

♫ Post Break-Up Sex ♫


The White Panda – Pandamonium

♫ I Want Brooklyn Back ♫

Woods – Sun and Shade

♫ Pushing Onlys ♫


anticipation, music, new music, video

[anticipation] Cults//Cults

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May has been a good month for new music.  We’ve already been treated to new releases from the likes of The Antlers, Architecture in Helsinki, Fleet Foxes, and Okkervil River.  Now right around the corner, we have the self-titled debut from Brooklyn duo Cults, which I’ve been eagerly anticipating since I first listened to the Go Outside 7″.

I’ve been listening to the new record quite often the last couple of weeks and I absolutely love it.  My favorite track is definitely the lead off, Abducted, but I also love Never Heal Myself, Most Wanted, Oh My God, and Never Saw the Point.

Cults will be released May 31st, but in the meantime, the good people at NPR Music have made the entire album available to stream here. You can also check out the video for my favorite track, Abducted, below and be sure to join Cults’ mailing list in exchange for a free download of Abducted.

music, new music

The Antlers ‘Burst Apart’ Today!

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The latest from Brooklyn indie rockers, The Antlers, is out today!

Burst Apart is the follow up to one of my absolute favorites of 2009, Hospice, and I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t expecting as much from this record.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expecting to be disappointed, but like MGMT before them, The Antlers were faced with the difficult task of following up a critically acclaimed and popular album.  So let’s just say, even though I’ve been (impatiently) anticipating the release of Burst Apart for quite awhile now, I set my expectations a bit lower than I should’ve.  Needless to say, there was no need for me to worry.

I’ve listened to Burst Apart (in it’s entirety) about seven times now and I love it.  Do I love it more than Hospice?  Probably not, but it’s close.  Burst Apart lacks some of the raw emotions and realism that make Hospice such an incredible record, but the band’s “trademark atmospheric tension” remains and Peter Silberman’s “feathery voice is still defiantly pure, floating high above the crystalline sounds of his backing band”.  My favorite track right now is No Widows, but other stand out tracks include I Don’t Want Love, French Exit, Hounds, and Putting the Dog to Sleep.

Head on over to The Antler’s media.  There are numerous tracks, from both Burst Apart and Hospice, available for download (free!), as well as a handful of videos for your viewing pleasure.

live music, music, on the road

[on the road] The Antlers

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Brooklyn indie rockers, The Antlers, are hitting the road this May for a North American tour in support of their upcoming album, Burst Apart.

After some England shows, they’ll kick things off in the states on May 17th in DC and wrap things up June 17th in CT (with a stop at Sasquatch on 5/28!).  Along the way, they’ll be joined by Little Scream and The Dodos (check dates below for specifics).

Burst Apart is set to be released May 10th via Frenchkiss.

The Antlers – Shiva

05/12 London, England – Heaven
05/13 Manchester, England – Manchester Club Academy
05/14 Brighton, England – Great Escape Festival
05/17 Washington, DC – Black Cat (w/ Little Scream)
05/18 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church Sanctuary (w/ Little Scream)
05/19 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg (w/ Little Scream)
05/20 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom (w/ Little Scream)
05/28 George, WA – Sasquatch Festival
05/31 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall (w/ Little Scream)
06/03 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey (w/ Little Scream)
06/04 Pomona, CA – Glass House (w/ Little Scream)
06/07 Austin, TX – Emo’s (w/ Little Scream)
06/08 Dallas, TX – The Loft (w/ Little Scream)
06/09 Tulsa, OK – The Marquee (w/ Little Scream)
06/10 St. Louis, MO – Firebird (w/ Little Scream)
06/11 Chicago, IL – Metro (w/ Little Scream)
06/12 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick (w/ Little Scream)
06/14 Toronto, Ontario – Mod Club (w/ Little Scream)
06/15 Montreal, Quebec – La Tulipe (w/ the Dodos)
06/16 Boston, MA – Paradise (w/ Little Scream)
06/17 Hamden, CT – The Space (w/ Little Scream)

music, video, watch

[watch] Acid House Kings//Would You Say Stop?

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The latest from Sweden’s Acid House Kings, Music Sounds Better With You, is just a few days away (out 3/22, pre-order here) and other than the latest from The Go! Team (Rolling Blackouts, out now) and the upcoming release from The Antlers (Burst Apart, out 5/10), this is one of the 2011 releases i’m most excited about.

Since way back in 1991, Acid House Kings have been creating some of the best indie pop and Music Sounds Better With You will not disappoint.  The Hype Machine had the entire album available to stream a couple of weeks ago and I pretty much listened to just that for the entire week.  The video featured below is for the track, Would You Say Stop? — a track that’s pure pop bliss…and just happens to be available for free download courtesy of labrador records.

Enjoy!